Recording apparatus



Nov. 13, 1945. A. BLAIN 2,389,021

RECORDING APPARATUS Filed June 30, 1943 f@ www Patented Nov. 13, 1945 UNITE-u STATESPATENT ori-ica Alliert Blain, Phiiadelphi Corporation of. Americ a, Pa., assignor to Radio a, a corporation of Dela- Application June 30, 1943, Serial No. 492,837

l (Cl. 234-59) 7 Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement in facsimile apparatus, and more particularly to an improvement in electrolytic facsimile receiving equipment.

A facsimile system includes a facsimile scanning apparatus for converting the-subject matterto betransmitted into a series of electrical signals or impulses which, after appropriate ampliiic'ation,` may then be transmitted by wire to a receiving apparatus, or the amplled signals may be used to modulate a carrier oscillation, the carrier oscillation being, in turn, transmitted by wire or radio communication channel to the receiving apparatus. At the receiving station the received signals are then used to produce markings on a sheet of record-receiving material or paper which will herein be considered synonymous for illustrative purposes. When the transmitter and receiver are operated in synchronism with each other, these markings are eifectiveto reproduce thel original subject matter.

Various types ci'y facsimile receiving apparatus of ya color in or on the surface ci' a sheetof chemically treated record-receiving material or paper, the color being formed due to a `chemical reaction in response to the application of a po tential to the paper, or the transmission oi' cur' form a colored marking in accordance with the intensity of the lutions may be and to produce When some which the electrode is made enters into the chemical reaction. whereas in ,other instances.. the metal oi' the electrode is inert insofar as the chemical reaction is concerned( The metal used in the electrode is,v therefore, chosen in accordpotential. Various chemical sodiii'erently colored markings.

y ance with the desired color, and in accordance with the particular chemical lyte for impregnating the used as an electro- Paper.

used to produce various results' solutions are used, 'the meta.: ci

It has been .rially reduced, and

found also that some metals produce substantially no markings, even when a relatively high current flows through the paper.

Since the markings are produced in an electrolytic facsimile receiver in response'to current variations, the pressure of the printer bar upon the paper may be maintained substantially uniform, and inasmuch as some physical pressure is necessary to produce good electrical contact -With'the moist impregnated paper, it is desirable that the printer bar have some appreciable thickness in order not to cutor otherwise physically injure the paper. The cooperating electrode must also have some appreciable thickness or width, and in most conventional facsimile printers the cooperating electrode is in the form of a helix or spiral which is wound around the periphery of a rotatable drum. As the recording drum tween) a scanning action is produced, and the size of the'scanning spot is determined by the contacting area of the helix and printer bar, and thus can be consideredas determined by the thick ess or dimensions of the printer bar and the`cooperating helix. Since these have appreciable "thickness, it is possible in some instances for the size of the scanning spot to be excessively large so that high detail in the produced iacsimile recording cannot be achieved. v By means of the present invention, the efiective size of the scanning spot, i. e., the eii'ective size of the intersection of the printer bar and rotating helix, may be materially reduced.

When certain chemical solutions are used, it has been found that best recordings can be made if the printer bar is made of platinum Accord ingly, if the printer bar is made of suiiicient thickness to have the desired mechanical strength and to avoid mechanical damage to the paper, the cost of the printer bar may be appreciable. and in some instances platinum in such amounts is frequently dimcult to obtain. According to the present invention, the cost of the printer bar is reduced to a small fraction particularly when the active printing metalis platinum, while at the same time the operational results are improved. This is accomplished by laminating the printer bar and constructing it of two diiierent metals, one of which is ineffective to produce a recording or a dye. while the other of which may be eifectivc in the production of a recording. By solamlnating the printer bar, the effective size of the scanning spot may be matein cases where the printing of the original cost,

' reldes in the metal is platinum, the cost of the printer har is substantially reduced.

Accordingly, one purpose of the present invention is to provide a new and improved facsimile ,recorder in which the printing -bar is 'made of lammatedmetals, one obwhich is a non-printing metal (i. e.,- ineifective toward forming a marking), andthe other of which is a printing metal (i. e., produces 'a marking). f

Another purpose of the present invention resides in the provision of a laminated printer 'bar in a facsimile reproducer by means f which the scanning spot can be made extreme small, with the result that the scanning line A be made ex tremcly thin, thus permitting the use or a vlarger number of lines per inch.,resulting in aconsid-f arable increase in theA amoimtof detail that may he included in the i reproduction.

speed with respect to the speed of rotationof the scanning drum,` a mechanical gearing arrange- A. still further purpose of Vthe present inven- 'tion resides in the use of a laminated printer bar vin a fe printer whereby the cost of the printer har y be appreciably reduced.

Still another of the present invention provision of e. laminated printer 'bar in a facsimile receiver in which one or more of the metals .of the laminated bar may be edective to simultaneously produce recordings in different colors so that the combined color will produce a predetermined desired eiect or result. Various other ps and advantages of the present inventionwili become apparent to those smiled in the art from the. following-detailed description, especiallywlien considered in connecy tion with the drawing, wherein Figure l shows a portion of a facce receiver or printer incorporating the present invention;

eddetails of the printer in l; and ,3 shows a modification of the printer har i f f "fr now to Figure ifa fale receiver i2 isschernatic p ratos .includes not only th demodulator or detector (in case the alcools are means at the transmitter.

il may be connected to a conv tionol pow with somer Jappropriate l meansfor maintaining proper synchronous operation with the trans= mitter, or the motor maybe operated from voppropri provided apparatus in the facile re zelver ifSinoe the' present invention is not concernedwitli synchronizing, this portion of the-system Ahas not been spetifically shown, and

n A f. and ,l

various syncln --11 control Ameans forfee receivers are well known to those nee in the en.

The ptine drum lf3 includes a helir'; lo which is wo about the periphery of the' drum, the helixgenerally being in the form of a wire em= bedded in a helical recess. This helix fo one Y electrode of the pair of recording electrodes.

The facsimlle`printer also includes a recordreceiving paper feed roller 8K ltogether with a traction roller 42, and the speed of rotation of atleast the feed roller 3d is controlled in accorde ance with the' scanning speed at the transmitter which bears a denite relationship to the rotation vr'nentis generally provided for interconnecting the twol elements, and for this purpose a rworm 22 is attached tothe shaft 20,- and these elements are rotated by the printing drum i4. The -Worm 22 cooperates with a gear 24 which rotates at a reduced speed. and the' geardl, in turn, rotates the countershaft 2l. One end of the vcouni'ershaft 28 is provided with a worm 28 which engages gear Se for rotating the driving" drum It by means of the shaft 82., The traction roller Si is also rotated atV a speed proportional to the speed of the printing drum i6 by means of a warmte positioned on the countershaft 26. The yworm cooperates with gear Si, which is attached to shaft e@ for rotating the traction drum il. The peripheral speed of drum d2 may be slightly in excess of the rate at which the paper is fed through the printer. to assure t tension .on

the paper, andin this event the i2 is per-.

mitted to slip relative to the paper.

The paper do is normally tain'ed from a supply roll B2 and as the paper moves forward through the reoor apparatus. il 'r11 I m The is il.

in the electrolyte during,Y its passage through the tanlr'by means of idler rollers ed. The paper in passing through the electrolyte isimpreeklisted with the chemical solution contained therein, and is in a moist te -.1 attire time it reaches the recording electrodes.' The moisture d@ contdin .the paper facili the pwsese of er line 'issued i' iw current therethrough, and,I the chcols confl a @ein the electrolyte and nheorbed; by the Y. Mental in :au-n. the dye'mnrirpaperelo f ings'on the surface ofthe paper or within th peper when en electrical nt is through the' per as it es hetweenthe'electrodes.

,far es the present invention is concerned, the speelde construction of thor'ecording mech-1 anisn is more or 2.2.. atei-iai, and it may. for cple, he constructed in accordance with the'disclosure of Blain application Serial No.` ioled on October 3,1942, or Artzt appli cation d r electrolyte may housed for .i to in Solomon tent No. monili, n. 29, i942, for example, may ice used. er pies of 4lcle recording elec are disclosed in Solomon applications Serial No.I 468,218, died October 24,1942, serial no. essere, December so. ieee, sensi ne. sono, died December 23,l i942, rial No. 469,981, died fief 1 ber 23, i942,- riai No. 469,958, 489,957, hled December 23, i942, and Serial No.

. M9362. 1died ember 23, ieee.

ln the present invention V -1 "u: i -w ction, and comprises two or errent materislsor metallic alloys. lit

. has been found thatfor most electrolytes used in-electrolytlc vfee reco v. are copper or copper alloys do not produce any appreciable marl:- ings and are/not particularly ed'ective towards the formation of a dye. Platinum, on the other hand,

tioned between the printer bar de and the printing it, and

e: through an electrolyte hath contained Y rss. 1. ed submerged' Serial o. 459,137, `ld September 2l,

e the peper, and solutions such as' ei.- Decemher 23, i942, Serial No..

the printer har 66 is will readily produce a d'ye formation which is generally of a purple color, but may be of different colors depending upon the diilerent electrolytes used. For this reason it has been conventional to construct the printer bar of solid Aplatinum havlng a thickness of about 0.01 inch, such a thickness being necessary to supply the required mechanical rigidity and strength. Iridium platinum is frequently used because of the added hardness iridium imparts to the platinum resulting in longer life of the printer bar. When a printer bar is made solely of platinum, it is relatively expensive, and, furthermore, the enttire edge surface of the printer'bar is eiective in producing electrolytic markings.

In the present invention, the printer bar may, in one modification as shown in Figure 2, be laminated and composed of two pieces of metal Gil andai?, the latter being beryllium copper, for example, or a copper alloy, and having a thickness of approximately 0.0i inch with a thin layer 60 of platinum, chromium or some other appropriate recording metal plated or otherwise deposited thereon. This thin layer of platinum or printing metal B may have a thickness of the order of 0.0002 inch, or a small fraction of a mil.

inasmuch as the beryllium copper or the portion 62 of the printer bar is ineffective toward the production of facsimile markings, the effective instantaneous recording area (or scanning spot),

is materially reduced since only the thin coating 80 is effective toward producing facsimile marl;- ings on the paper. Since only the thin coating 60 will produce facsimile markings, the width of the scanning line can be made extremely thin. with the result that the number of scanning lines per inch can be increased in number, and accordingly much greater detail can be reproduced in the facsimile reproduction produced by the recorder. In addition to increasing Athe amount of detail in the recordings, the cost 'of the printer bar is materially reduced.

Where a laminated printer bar constituting two metals is used, it is preferable to locate the printing metal on the paper approach side of the bar. This, however, is not vital since a printer bar may be constructed with the active or recording metal located between two adjacent strips of non-recording metals.

In Figure 3 is shown another modification of a printer bar in which two metals 6d and 66 are used, and are positioned adjacent each other in a laminated manner to form a composite printing bar. The choice of the particular metals is dependent, of course, upon the particular electrolyte used and the desired colo;` combinations.

Metal No. '1, for example, might be a chromium plating or deposit on metal No. 2, which, for example, might be iron, so that the final result 'will produce a combination of green as a result of the presence of the iron portion of the printer bar, and purple from the presence of the chromium portion 84. With such a construction it is. therefore, possible to produce markings of a color heretofore unobtainable by an actual combination of two different colors through proper choice of metals used in the laminated printer bar, together with a proper choice of the particular electrolyte used.

In constructing printer bars by lamination of two or more metals, it is desirable to choose metals such that their erosion (both chemical and mechanical) will be substantially equal in order that the different metals of which the printer bar is made will erode at about the same rate; otherwise an undesired efl'ect might result if one metal were to wear down by mechanical erosion or were to be used up due to chemical reaction more rapidly than the other. If an electrolyte is used, however, which requires a reaction with one of the metals of which the laminated printer bar is constructed. proper choice of the other metal is not too critical since mechanical erosion or wear of the one metal will tend to compensate for the chemical erosion of the other. i

The polarity of the recording potentials as applied to the printer bar is determined in accordance with the particular electrolyte used. How ever, in most cases the positive potential is applied to the recording drum I4 or helix I8. For this purpose, a brush 54 may be provided, which cooperates electrically with the helix I8, and two conductors 56 connect the printer bar 46 and brush 54 to the facsimile receiver and amplifier l2, In actual practice the helix i8 and drum i4 are in electrical contact with the entire apparatus so that one conductor from the amplifier may he connected to the metallic frame of the recorder.

The other conductor is connected to the printer' Various alterations and modifications may be f made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and it is desired that any and-all such alterations and modifications be considered within the purview of this invention.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to have protected by Letters Patent is:

1. A facsimile printing apparatus including a pair of recording electrodes, one of said electrodes including a plurality oi conducting laminae posttioned adjacent each other, the face of each lamina cooperating with the other recording elec trode, means for positioning the recording electrodes so that a strip of record-receiving material may be positioned therebetween, and means for applying signal potentials to the recording electrodes.

2. An electrolytic facsimile recording apparatus including a pair of recording electrodes between which a strip of record-receiving paper is adapted to be passed, one of said electrodes including metallurgically different electrically conducting metallic laminaepositioned closely adjacent each other and positioned so that the face of each lamina cooperates means for applying facsimile cording electrodes.

3. An electrolytie facsimile recordingappar'atus wherein a recording is produced on a strip of chemically impregnated record-receiving paper as signals to the rea result of passing an electrical current through the paper, comprising a pair of recording elec.

with the other electrode, and

producing markings on a o! prodxicins chemical reactions to cause 1e markings and the other elements being ambetant--l ^tieliy incapable of producing chemical reactions to cause facsimile markings on the record-receivins material, the metallic elements coextensive along oneedge o! the prin har.

5. A laminated printing bar for use in an electrolytic recording apparatus for producing mark 'ings on a chemically impregnated recying material comprising a plurality oi flat co-ex= tensive laminations oi! different electrically conducting metallic alloys having different installati'm t gica! properties, each oi said metals being capable ci producing diilerent'facsimile mars on the record-receiving material.

6. An electrolytic facsimile receiver wherein ar metallurgical characteristics, at least-one -v of which elements reacts with the impregnatins chemicals to produce the markings. the said one electrode being tioned so that an edge of each f iacsimilerecordings are producedon a chemicallymarkings are produced on a chemically impres mated record-receiving material when an eleo- 1 trlcal current is passed through the impregnated material as a result of chemical reaction of the impregnating chemicals and one of the recording electrodes, comprising a pair of recording electrodes,`means for applying :\.=,v.' signals to the recording electrodes, and means yforposition-1 ing the electrodes such that impregnated ma may be passed therebetwee vone of 'said electrades includingy a' plurality of laminated electrically conducting metallic elements having di'sbetween `cal reaction between one of the electrodes and thechemicals with which the material kis 1mpregnted, comps a pair o! electrodes, neans lor applying iacsimile signals to therecording electrodes, means for positioning the electrodes such that the impregnated material may be p therebetween-l one o! said electrodes including two dinerent electrically conducting metals having diierent metallurgical characteristics. each of which reacts with the impregnating chemicals to produce marmngs. said metals being positioned in close contact with each other and in lequal proximity to the other electrode and srransed to'orm a composite laminated printing electrode. Y .ALBERT BLAIN. 

